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On February 3, 1874 Republican Senator John Sherman from Ohio presented a Bill in Congress with a purpose to stabilize and reissue the currency and provide for free banking. Sherman's Currency and Banking Bill was turned into an Inflation Bill' by the amendments made to it by several Western and Southern Congressmen from both the Republican and Democrat parties. The amended bill would bring...

During the summer and fall of 1868, white unrest grew in most of the southern states due to the newly created state governments enacted under the radical Reconstruction Acts. Resentful of Republican control and the extension of rights to blacks, white southerners further turned to violence to impose their will. In Arkansas, racial violence continued to escalate as whites attempted to keep blacks...

With the increase in racial violence in Arkansas, Governor Powell Clayton sought to create a secret militia aimed at preventing white supremacy movements in the form of organizations like the Ku Klux Klan. The majority of white citizens in Arkansas despised the Governor's enforcement officials. To outfit his militia Clayton ordered 4,000 muskets which were shipped to Memphis, Tennessee. However,...

In January of 1873, after Elisha Baxter, a Republican, was elected as governor of Arkansas in 1872, Joseph Brooks, who was supported by Liberals, Democrats, and Arkansas Unionists, claimed that the election had been doctored' and that he was the rightful governor. After being informed that the Supreme Court of Arkansas had no jurisdiction in settling the decision and that it was up to the General...

The territory of Arkansas began its push for admittance to the Union in 1833, but some Congressmen, as well as many Arkansas citizens, thought statehood could wait until the population had grown considerably. After all, they benefited financially from their status as a territory. However, the need to draft a Constitution and petition Congress for admission became more urgent when Michigan made its...

Grant County is formed in Arkansas during this year. Grant County is formed from three other counties and they all still remain counties also. There will be 637 miles that encompass this county. This formation shows the westward movement that is occurring during this stage of the south.Mr. FLB Goodwin is from Georgia and he wrote to the Atlanta constitution during this time period. He also moved...

In the National House of Representatives, Congressman Johnson of Kentucky introduced a bill to establish Arkansas under the second grade of territorial development. The bill provided for treatment of the Arkansas Territory similarly to the Territory of Missouri and pushed it closer to becoming a state. Johnson's bill looked to past acts of Congress regarding Southern territory as guidelines for handling...

The United States, represented by Generals Andrew Jackson and Thomas Hinds, negotiated at Doak's Stand with Mingoes,' or head men and warriors of the Choctaw nation, over land. The United States hoped to expand white settlement specifically in Mississippi, the Choctaw homeland. In return for the Choctaw land, President Monroe agreed to a cession of about one-fifth of the state of Arkansas,...

Gustavus Henry believed that producing cotton could make him a wealthy man. On November 27, 1857, he wrote a letter to his wife stating that despite encountering troubles for the past month, the gin stands [had] been doing finely for the last five days. Gustavus described the recent production as delightful. He further said it was a beautiful thing that the lead pipe, which brought water from the lake,...

Like many young, adventurous men in the nineteenth century, Erastus Brown decided to explore the new frontier of the United States. Upon returning home from a trip to Texas, he wrote a letter to his sister, Millie, asking her to accompany him on his next trip. In discussing his trip to Texas, Erastus described his encounter with the Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw Indian Nations. He described the Cherokee...